Curse of the Red Crow
by Blueshade Seraphim
Summary: Edelgard has never had it easy, she never expected she’d fear for her life in the monastery. She finds herself haunted by a horrifying creature in a cloak. Where did it come from? What does it want with her? And what can she hope to do against this malformed monstrosity?
1. Death wears red

**(WARNING! The following fanfic contains minor implications of events that happen in Three Houses. If you want to approach the game completely blind, go no further. For best effect, I recommend reading this in a dark room.)**

Her year has been an eventful one. Since the new professor had arrived, there had never been a dull moment at the academy. It really was a shame she chose to lead the blue lions. At first she was glad she wouldn't have what appeared to be an empty husk of a woman leading her and her classmates, but with Dimitri's house beating them whenever they competed, she ultimately ended up agonizing over what could've been. Tonight was just like any other, Edelgard in her room after her self-mandated studying session. So she rested, killing time with some less critical thoughts while she waited for sleep to take her. She stared at the ceiling as the clock ticked, providing the only sound she had to keep her company. Tick... tick... tick... She was growing increasingly impatient with herself. Linhardt makes it look so easy. Bored out of her mind, she got out of bed and tried to think of another way to make this work. Then she got an idea: maybe Bernadetta wouldn't mind some company during her late-night sewing. She'd probably have to be very careful not to scare the daylight out of her, though. If anyone asks, she could simply say she wanted some fresh air.

So she stepped out of her room, and went downstairs, avoiding making too much noise so as not to wake anyone. As expected, it was freezing out tonight. Those Faerghus winds were really blowing. But she saw that as a way to get more comfort out of the warmth of her bed after this was over. It was quite a foggy night. The lake seemed like an ideal spot to clear her mind. As she walked under the veil of night, she noticed there was a disquieting lack of guards. Probably for the best, considering she wanted some level of solitude here. She made her way to the lake, and looked to see if there were any fish she could spot near the surface. "None..." She whispered to herself. Edelgard was starting to become unnerved from the dead silence around her. Something in the air made her feel... uneasy. Maybe coming out here wasn't such a good idea after all. She turned around and started heading back to the dorms. Halfway there though, this tension with no origin seemed to intensify. She felt like something was watching her. She surveyed her surroundings. "Hello...?" No response. What was she getting all worked up over? There was clearly nobody here! The bushes near her weren't big enough to hide in. But her gut wasn't so easily convinced. She slowly pulled out the dagger that she had received from Dimitri so long ago. She always kept it on hand. _Always. _"Sylvain, if this is one of your schemes to get a date, you have some serious thinking to do." No response. She watched her surroundings as she crept closer to the safety of the dorms. She then heard something that confirmed this wasn't a prank. _"Ngaauugh..." _She barely heard it, but it was unmistakably some sort of gurgled moaning sound. She couldn't trace the sound, but its origin came quickly to her when she felt something staring her down from behind.

Without hesitation, she spun her heel and plunged the knife into whatever made the mistake of creeping her out. And when she saw what it was, she didn't feel much safer. "What in the...!?" It was a figure in a tattered red cloak. Their hood obstructing their face, but they were a smidge shorter than her. It had a black shirt that was ripped in such a way to expose the front of its midriff. Its pants were also black, and it didn't wear shoes. It was clearly supposed to be a woman by its figure, but its exposed skin was a grayish white, and had tiny disc-shaped indentations in it like it was stung all over by a hive of angry wasps, or razed by the bites of a thousand fire ants. Said skin was dripping with some sort of clear liquid. The dagger Edelgard had sunk into its chest made the horrid creature bleed slightly, but not seeming to cause any real harm. "What kind of... _freak _are you!?" The figure responded with a guttural growl as it pulled the dagger out of itself like a sword swallower. Edelgard backed away in disbelief. She had nothing left to defend herself, and that abomination didn't seem to happy with her. She had no choice, she had to run! **(The music "Rush Hour" from A Hat In Time plays) **"Someone, help!" She shouted, as she started running. The creature flung her dagger back at her, but Edelgard ducked as it went flying overhead. She skidded on her heel as she turned a corner, and the monstrosity leaped onto the wall as it drew closer to her. Thinking fast, Edelgard picked up one of the torches on the wall and threw it at it. The beast rattled as its skin was set ablaze, but it didn't seem affected by it. In fact, it only served to make it angrier! As it leaped at Edelgard, she slammed it in the face with the door to the black eagles classroom. Taking advantage of the precious seconds this monster was dazed, she ran in and closed the doors.

As the future emperor desperately held out her attacker, a thousand thoughts were racing through her head. What was this thing!? What did it want with her!? The creature sent shards of wood skittering across the floor as it rammed its five fingered claws through the door in an attempt to break in. Edelgard was never one to show fear, but she was bloody terrified right now! As her strength gave out and the doors flung open, she was barreled into Professor Manuela's desk. She screamed out, hoping someone would hear her before it was too late. The hooded figure shambling towards her, its inhuman noises filling the room as she threw anything nearby at it. None of which slowed its approach beyond a second. She thought it was over right then and there, but then a certain golden sword came swinging into the monster's rib cage. "P-Professor Byleth!" Byleth's vacant expression had never looked more welcoming, as the hooded animal made a confused sound and freed the professor's sword from its body. A voice rang out that also filled Edelgard with a sense of relief. "A hideous monster like you has no right to even _BE in Lady Edelgard's line of sight!" _Hubert launched one of his dark spells at it, which seemed to be about as effective as all the attempts to hurt it thus far. But the ghastly thing looked around at the three of them, as if it was thinking something. _"Ngaauughhh_..._"_ Just then, the room was filled with a horrible blinding light. One that even hurt their eyes with their lids shut. But when the light faded and they all opened their eyes, it was gone. Hubert scoffed. "Coward." Byleth walked up to her. "Are you hurt?" She asked in her usual quiet tone. "No. Thanks to you. Once again, it appears I'm in your debt." A few minutes later, Catherine, Alois, and other knights came rushing in. "Is everything alright here?" Catherine asked, seeing the destroyed door. Hubert folded his arms. "Indeed. The threat has passed for now. You should all be ashamed at your poor speed, or maybe we would have caught that thing." As Byleth and Hubert explained the few things they knew about what just happened, Edelgard was deep in thought. 'What was that...?' She thought to herself, as she told the knights everything that happened.

**To be continued...**


	2. It comes in the night

Come morning, Professor Byleth had reported last night's incident to Lady Rhea. The staff were to be put on high alert tonight, and the students grew nervous. This was so similar to the incident regarding The Death Knight. After submitting an eye witness account of the attack, Edelgard was relieved she was permitted the day off from her lessons. It was always her passion to get stronger, but the break was much appreciated. She knew Hubert would probably write down a summary of what they learned for her. Even though she wasn't really used to having time to herself, she tried her best to enjoy it. After getting some proper sleep, she stopped by the library and continued reading about crests. To her surprise however, her relatively peaceful activity was interrupted by Monica. "Hey, El~ You look well today." Edelgard was caught _off _guard by this. And to some degree, offended. She gave Monica a stern look. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in class with the others." Monica twirled her hair as she sat down. "I told Professor Manuela I wanted to check on you. You're so lucky! I cannot begin to fathom how she doesn't put herself to sleep with her boring lectures."

Edelgard sighed and held her forehead with her palm. "Is there any reason you came here other than to engage in idle chatter?" Monica pouted. "Oh El, you wound me so. But because you asked, I believe you have a meeting today regarding your brush in with death incarnate last night." Suddenly everything was making more sense. "He better have a good excuse ready, or I'll have his head on my wall." Monica smirked. "Fair enough. Welp, I'd best get back to class. But if she has to stop the lesson to wake up Linhardt again, I think I'm gonna lose my mind." And off she went, merrily skipping out of sight. _'What a headache.' _Edelgard thought.

**Later that day, at lunch...**

Edelgard sat with Hubert, discussing what they should do next, when Professor Byleth approached them. "Ah, Professor. I wanted to thank you again, for saving me last night. Hubert told me you were one of the quickest on the scene." Hubert merely sized the professor down with his usual dead eyed stare, even though it didn't affect her at all. "Do not misconstrue my words, Lady Edelgard. Her quarters just so happened to be the closest to the classrooms. Nothing special about that." Edelgard gave him a look, to emphasize his rudeness. "...My apologies, milady." Byleth was indifferent to his blatant distrust of her. As usual, her voice was quiet and void of emotion. "I believe from what you described that this won't be the last time this happens." Edelgard paused a moment, unsure of exactly what she meant. "Well, that's to be anticipated. Rest assured, we'll be certain it doesn't hurt anyone." Byleth shook her head. "No. I mean, this thing is targeting _you _specifically. If its goal was to harm the student body, it wouldn't give chase to you when the dorms were so close by." Edelgard grasped her chin. "As much as I hate to say it, I think you're right. But we still have many things we don't yet understand. Motives, origin, weaknesses." Hubert drank some of his coffee. "Knowing the enemy is half of knowing how to defeat them. And the only way we can learn more is by fighting it. Professor, I'd like to arrange for Lady Edelgard to be granted extra protection for tonight. And don't waste your breath trying to discourage me."

Edelgard furrowed her brow. "Hubert, certainly that's not-" But Byleth interrupted her. "Actually, I came to offer the same thing. I plan to give an extra credit assignment for the Blue Lions to keep you safe over the night. Lady Rhea has already given me her approval. Even if you're prepared this time, you can't say with certainty that you'll succeed." Edelgard didn't like putting others at risk unless she deemed it necessary, but her logic was sound. "Very well then. I'm sure I don't need to tell you to keep everyone safe, Professor." Byleth nodded, and walked away. Hubert frowned. "I find it difficult to read that woman." Edelgard finished the last of her meal. "It's without question that she means well. Try not to give the Blue Lions a hard time." Hubert pushed in his chair. "As you wish."

**That night...**

Edelgard was in her room like before. Her trusty axe at arm's reach at all times. Hubert and the Blue Lions were all stationed outside keeping an eye out for trouble. She was amazed all of the Blue Lions accepted the assignment. Sacrificing their sleep to protect her, that's some admirable dedication. Sylvain was always happy to help a girl in need, even if he had to watch his frequency with Hubert analyzing everything being said with an unnerving level of focus. Dedue just stood solemnly, not leaving a set distance from Dimitri. He barely even blinked. Annette and Mercedes were chatting about this or that, no doubt in an attempt to ease some of the tension. And Dimitri himself? He and the professor were the most unwavering in their surveillance of the horizon. Every here and there, they'd exchange a word or two. Both seemed atypically talkative around the other. Wait, did the professor just... smile? Hubert has never seen her do that before. The plot thickens, so it seems. As Edelgard sat on her bed, once again left in a position where she must do nothing until something happens, she reminisced on the time she had spent in the Kingdom as a child. Heh, that felt like a lifetime ago. Dimitri was so awkward back then, but did become good friends with what little time they had met. She always wanted to recreate those memories, but that was then, and this is now. Tick... tick... tick... the clock continued to announce the ever-fleeting time everyone is given. But after what felt like an eternity, she heard a knock on her door. Quietly grabbing her axe, she didn't dare open it for anyone she didn't know. She was about to ask who it was, but then realized it wouldn't be wise to let anyone know she was in there. Then the knocking came again. Louder, this time. Now she knew what was out there. But no, this time she wasn't gonna be afraid. She was Edelgard Von Hresvelg! Sole heir to the Adrestian Empire! Now they were practically pounding on the door. Edelgard took a deep breath, and flung the door open, about to bring her axe down when she saw... "Bernadetta...?" The purple haired girl was standing there looking just as terrified as ever. "Wah! Please, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Edelgard raised an eyebrow, as she lowered her weapon. "What are you doing here!? I nearly sliced you in half just now!" Bernadetta quivered. "I-I had a nightmare, and you were so big and strong and...!" Edelgard then noticed something.

"Bernadetta...? What's that under your eye?" Edelgard watched as a stream of dark red liquid started to drip from Bernadetta's tear duct as her face lost all emotion. **"It was a nightmare about fire... fire everywhere... burning... blazing... boiling... razing..." **Edelgard watched as her body morphed and contorted, shriveled and decayed into a very familiar figure in a red hood. "I'm not scared of you... I-I'm not!" She attacked with all her might using her axe, but her attacker caught it with its bare hand. Blood spurting from its hand as the axe dig into it, but never got any deeper. **(The music "Mephiles phase 1" from Sonic '06 plays)** Now Edelgard knew what those gruesome marks on its body were: they were blisters. No doubt caused by severe burns. "This is... just die already!" Thinking fast, she toppled over her dresser to send it crashing down on top of it, as she ran to the protection of her allies. She heard the sound of her dresser being ripped to shreds behind her as she barreled out the front door. Everyone immediately turned to look at her. "Lady Edelgard? Why are you out here you should be-" but before Ashe could finish that sentence, the monster let out an unearthly yowl and tore through the front door. The guards patrolling the area caught glimpse of the chaos. One guard turned to the other, "You, get help!" The other guard ran off, following his coworker's advice. Dimitri pointed his lance at the enraged beast, but it didn't even look in his general direction. Its eyes were firmly locked on Edelgard. "Ngarrgh... Gnngnnrgh...!" Everyone kept their eyes on it, trying to predict what it'll do.

"Attack!" Edelgard commanded, as Hubert blasted it with shards of dark magic, but the creature was swift in dodging. And any of them that did land, it just pulled out of its skin like splinters. Annette used some of her magic too, as the more close ranged fighters tried swinging at it with their respective weapons. But amidst the sea of limbs and sharp pointy things, Dimitri used the split seconds he had to get a good look at this abomination. "The way it looks... it's reminiscent of...!" The monster vaulted over Felix's shoulder as he took another swipe at it, and ran towards Hubert. "Stay back, ingrate!" He pelted it with attack after attack, but it barely slowed it down. Once it was close enough, it latched onto Hubert's body and gnawed at his shoulder! Ashe fired an arrow into its eye, which finally seemed to deal it significant pain. Got off of Hubert, as he clutched his arm. Mercedes rushing over to heal him. The monster pulled the arrow out of its still concealed face, and returned its attention to Edelgard. But before it could make another move, it realized a large number of soldiers were closing in from both sides. Including Lady Rhea herself. It growled to itself, as a pool of blood gathered at its feet from its wounds. But now that it wasn't moving so spastically, Edelgard saw that the injuries it had sustained from last night had healed themselves. "This can't be real...!" The monster slowly raised its arm, and pointed at Edelgard before everyone was blinded once more by a bright light. And just like last time, it was gone.

The ranks of Garreg Mach looked at the empty spot where the monster was just standing. Lady Rhea walked over to the students. "Is everyone unharmed?" Dimitri nodded. "Yes. Well, mostly. But we are all still alive. Never in my life have I seen such a disgusting misappropriation of nature. But i think I know where it came from." Professor Manuela walked over to them. "Lady Rhea, we've managed to secure a blood sample. The amount on Edelgard's dagger wasn't enough to draw any conclusions, but now we might be able to discover something regarding our monster problem." Professor Byleth came over as well. "I agree with Dimitri. I had my suspicions about where our foe came from, but after that fight I know for certain." Edelgard listened from the sidelines, as she helped bandage up Hubert's shoulder. "Professor..." Rhea said, expressing concern upon seeing her grim expression. "This came from a recent tragedy. Erratic behavior, deformed appearance, peak level aggression, that was the work of Solon. A victim of Remire Village..."

To be continued...


	3. The ripper

It had only happened recently. Those who caught sight of it portrayed it as what it was: a waking nightmare. It was horrible. It was disturbing. And it still went unavenged. Edelgard, and everyone in the academy for that matter, wanted that day where such a karmic debt was payed to be realized. Hubert was bandaged up after his little frenzy with the monster. His spell arm was no doubt going to be out of commission for a while. Professor Manuela and Seteth had gathered Byleth and the two house leaders involved in the fight. "Good day, everyone. I have some good news, and some bad news. Good news is that your theory as to the beast's origin is most likely correct. Professor Manuela has done a blood analysis, and as we expected, we found high concentrations of dark magic." Dimitri stood politely. "And I'm guessing the bad news is that because of this, we're dealing with something truly hellish, correct?" Seteth nodded. Manuela then spoke up. "The following is mere speculation on our part, but our opponent's pain receptors don't seem to work properly, which explains its extreme tolerance for physical trauma. On top of that, it's reasonable to assume it has an incredible abundance of stem cells, which grant it the healing abilities we recently discovered it has. So I'm gonna go off on a limb here and say physical attacks aren't going to work." Byleth remained as stone faced as ever. "What do we do then?" Seteth sighed. "Lady Rhea? Care to explain?" Rhea walked out into the open, and greeted her guests with her usual gentle voice. "The decrepit appearance and colorless skin of the threat suggests that the dark magic in its veins is the only thing keeping it alive, along with granting it these abilities. We should assume Solon's magic is very strong. As such, I will need to take care of this personally."

Edelgard raised an eyebrow, as Seteth explained. "I have already voiced my opposition, but Lady Rhea insisted. The lot of you will gather in front of the monastery, where no civilians will be hurt. She will focus her energy into a spell that should cleanse the vile thing of the magic inside it. It will be your job to protect her, and to trap the monster inside the spell's radius. I hope you all understand how important it is that we do not let it escape this time. It isn't likely it'll fall for the same trick twice." Rhea looked somberly at the floor. "This poor tortured soul is crying out for help. It is the merciful thing to do to end the misery Solon has forced upon it. I will pray that no one gets hurt in the struggle." Byleth and Dimitri nodded, and Edelgard performed the gesture a second later as they left the room. Dimitri could tell... no, he could _FEEL _that this victim of Remire wasn't acting on Solon's influence. Not entirely, anyway. If it was, wouldn't it make more sense to incorporate it into an organized attack rather than some open assassination attempts? It went out of its way to avoid harming anyone but Edelgard and Hubert... Maybe it had some sort of grudge against the Empire? It was anyone's guess.

**Yesterday, in an unknown location...**

"Ah, yes. I believe I renamed her 'Sif'. Quite an amusing little creation she was. Turned out to be a real wolf without her sheep limitations. But truly, I haven't begun to scratch the surface of the potential of our unparalleled talents." Solon chuckled, to the reserved and mysterious Flame Emperor. "You waste my time. You will explain why your experiment is running rampant in the monastery this instant." Solon smirked. "She was everything I had hoped. Faster. Stronger. Better. The perfect weapon to cleanse Fódlan of the parasites that wriggle upon its soil. But she unfortunately had quite a stubborn mindset. Before long, she managed to escape. My time is far too precious to run after a pet that won't follow orders, so if she is causing panic, might as well leave her be. If anything, the fact she's distracting our enemies means she is proving useful after all." The Flame Emperor did not seem amused. His eyes narrowing into Solon's ugly mug. "So you choose to simply ignore her? Perhaps you've forgotten our mission?" Solon licked his lips. "She'll be dealt with before long. Authorities will see to that." The Flame Emperor knew arguing with him was pointless. "Whatever blood is spilt will be on your hands." Solon turned his back to him in a dismissive manner. "Natural selection."

**End of flashback...**

It was not long before night fell. A nasty storm was brewing overhead as some of the blue lions, as well as church soldiers prepared for the coming attack. It took immense restraints to keep Hubert from forcing himself into the fight and in his bed. Especially since Edelgard knowingly had to be there as bait. She had to admit, even with all the people surrounding her to keep her safe, the lack of sleep she's been getting as a result of these attacks have made her weaker in a fight. But her life is on the line, and she must fight for it, or risk losing it. Shamir, Jeralt, and Aloise we're positioned to keep Rhea safe. It was only a matter of keeping Edelgard alive until her spell was done. Rhea began the process immediately. Clasping her hands together, and praying as she started to glow. It was wise to start early, since it took a while to charge. Minutes passed, as the rain started to fall. The thunder rumbling, and everyone watching their surroundings. Even if the creature didn't know what they were up to, it wouldn't risk letting them finish once it discovered them. All things considered, they thought their foe would approach from the forest or some other concealed location. But then they saw a shadow approaching them, it was through the front gates. There it was, quietly walking towards them. Dimitri held his lance firmly. He didn't want to do this, but Rhea was right. This probably was the only way to end its suffering. He was the first to say anything to it. "The one who has wronged you is a man named Solon. You will not find him here." He announced, hoping they still understand English.

They once again pointed an accusatory finger at Edelgard. No doubt signaling for them to hand her over. Against her better judgement, Edelgard responded to its gesture. "No matter how angry you may be, do you think killing me will do anything good for this world!? Destroying the only heir to a time tested dynasty and throwing the entire territory into madness!? Is that sound logic to you!?" The monster did not retaliate with words, but instead by pulling down its hood to reveal why it wanted it covered. It's face was the definition of hideous! It looked like it was melting, with sharp piranha-like teeth, and black hair that had multiple patches missing. It had only one eye, that was red, void of pupils, and infected. The other was just an empty eye socket with a vein sticking out. Annette covered her mouth in shock. "I think I'm gonna be sick." Dimitri was disgusted that any man had the potential for such cruelty, even if Solon barely looked like he was fully human. A voice came from its mouth. The voice of the Flame Emperor. **"My hands are tied... Be at ease... your sacrifice shall aid in the revival of Fódlan." **Edelgard tried not to look, but the image was already imprinted into her mind. "We can help you move on. Please let us." Its teeth contorted into a furious smile. The sky turned blood red, and the grass turning to some black slime, as the monster then ripped a tree out of the ground, and threw it toward her! **(The music "king of the koopas" from Paper Mario plays) **Edelgard tried to slice through the tree with her axe, and while she was successful, the cut ended up giving her a face full of stray splinters. "Oh no...! It wasn't trying to kill her before, just make her suffer. Now it's serious!" Ashe announced, as the area was consumed in this outbreak of chaos! The ground rose up to reveal giant carnivorous plants ready to feast on anything too close. Jeralt shouted out to the terrified students. "Don't lose focus! We can't let either of them die!"

Felix swung his sword at the beast only for it to shatter into a million pieces! The monster flung him into a wall out of frustration as it ran towards its target. Dedue and Dimitri double teamed it, axe and lance in hand. "Just a little more time is all we need...!" Dimitri told himself, as the razors of teeth this thing had bit down on his lance and snapped it. Dedue was one of the strongest fighters there, and so even with his weapon breaking against the unstoppable shield of skin it hit, he switched tactics and tried using his fists. Ashe and Annette pelted it with everything they had from afar. The creature hissed, as it launched its knee into Dedue's jaw, and brought both its fists down on his head to disorient him before bulldozing over him. Ashe and Annette unfortunately happened to be in the way, and had their skulls slammed into one another. "Please tell me you're done, Rhea!" Shamir asked, gritting her teeth. "Almost there...!" Byleth was the only one in the way between Edelgard, and certain death. The church soldiers fighting off the ravenous plants. Byleth gripper the sword of the creator, and prepared to fight. Edelgard approached her. "Let me help. It's me they want." Byleth was unsure, but knew she couldn't change her mind anyway. **"Edelgaaard...!" **They both got into a fighting stance. **"EDELGAAAARD!" **Byleth slung her sword at the monstrosity, and it didn't shatter upon contact. That made sense, considering this _was _a Hero's Relic. The attack managed to dig into its rib cage. Even if it could barely feel pain, it didn't make it invincible. If they could slice its spine, it wouldn't be able to hold itself upright.

But it was clear her opponent saw what she was thinking. It tried to swing the powerful weapon into Edelgard, but she ducked under it. Edelgard leaped into the air, and sent her axe caving into the monster's eye! "That was for trying to hurt me and Hubert!" The creature rattled in pain, and retaliated by digging its teeth into her arm! The ground near Rhea lit up with a heavenly light. "It's ready! Hurry, and get it closer!" She yelled, as Jeralt and the others ran off to subdue the monster. Edelgard cried out in agony, as her arm drew blood. Byleth was about to attempt to save her, but the beast thought one step ahead and used Edelgard as a human shield. Roaring at them as a warning, as it dug its sharp claws into Edelgard's other arm. "That's low, you coward!" Shamir shouted, none of them wanting to test their luck by approaching further. Edelgard was humiliated. She was completely at its mercy! And as she looked into the eye of her captor, she saw an inferno of rage in its eye. Something that was all too familiar to her. Who would have guessed they'd share that same level of torment. Forced to face the depths of Hades by the hands of another. All she could do was... beg. "I'm fighting to see a world where what happened to you will not ever occur again. I know your anger. I've lived it. We should be on the same side!" Before she could stop herself, the words were already out of her mouth. Her bargaining had the exact opposite effect she had hoped for, and it sank its teeth deeper into her to demonstrate that.

"I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!" That voice...! A hurricane of dark magic erupted under its feet, spurring it into the sky and breaking Edelgard free of its grasp. Edelgard feel to her knees and clutched her brutal new markings, as she turned around and saw Hubert standing there. The monster was blown by the dark winds straight through a brick chimney, and sending it crashing into the cold unforgiving ground. "Mercedes!" Byleth shouted. "Right away, Professor!" She replied, rushing over and healing Edelgard. Shamir filled it full of holes and Alois slammed it into the magic circle Rhea had made. The magic sucked it in as it desperately tried to shake itself free. Dimitri looked over Edelgard to see she was okay, and Byleth stood over the both of them. Rhea looked at the monster as its body started evolving into the light. "You don't have to suffer anymore. Your worries of justice... please leave them upon our shoulders." The monster looked at Rhea. Its anger was still apparent, even as it was dying. But it seemed a tad more reassured by the Archbishop's words. It stopped trying to fight the light, and succumbed to its fate. Using its last moments to look towards Byleth in the distance. **"Yes..."** and then it faded. Faded into nothing but dust and ash. Edelgard sustained injuries from the battle, ones that made her fighting a definite no-go for weeks, but over time she would heal from the incident. Everyone could rest easy for a while, knowing that that horrid nightmare was over. After a while, she and the other students returned to their daily life. And with her life no longer in peril, Edelgard was able to think about more relatively trivial matters. Most specifically, the relationship between Dimitri and the professor. It was strange for her to feel this way, considering she only got to see them interacting very rarely, but something about the gratitude Dimitri's expression showed to her after the battle, or the almost creepy sight of Professor Byleth seeming to openly enjoy someone's company. Some chemistry was at play here. And if that was the case, there was nothing she could do. What a shame...

**(Sorry it took a while to get this out. With college work, and struggling to refind the "scary", it was harder than usual to get this done. Hope you enjoyed. This'll be my early contribution to Halloween~)**


End file.
